their sense of being outcast. He unfortunately turned to the
pastoral tradition and added the mawkishness of that silly conceit
to his other extravagances. His most famous work was a
long narrative poem entitled “Xadane”. Xadane was supposedly
a Delphaeic shepherdess who fell in love with a normal human
shepherd boy. As long as they met in the daytime, everything
was fine, but Xadane had to run away every afternoon to keep
her paramour from discovering her real identity. The poem’s
very long and tedious, and it’s filled with lengthy, lugubriOUS
passages in which Xadane feels sorry for herself. It’s absolutely
awful.’
“I gather from what those people out in the fog said last night
that the word “Delphae” is their own name for themselves,’
Bevier noted. ‘if Tamul literature also uses the term, that would
seem to suggest some sort of contact.’
‘So it would, Sir Knight,’ Itagne replied, ‘but there’s no record
of them. The traditions are very old, and I suspect that many of
them grew out of the warped minds of third-rate poets. The city
of Delphaeus supposedly lies in an isolated valley high in the
mountains of southern Atan. The Delphae are said to be a Tamul
people somewhat akin to the Atans but without the gigantic
proportions. If we’re to believe our poets, which we probably
shouldn’t, the Delphae were a simple pastoral folk who followed
their flocks into that valley and were trapped there by an avalanche
that sealed the only pass leading to the outside world.’
‘That’s not entirely impossible,’ Ulath said.
‘The impossibilities start cropping up later on in the story,’
Itagne said dryly. ‘We’re told that there’s a lake in the center of
the valley, and the lake’s supposed to be the source of the Delphasic
peculiarity. It’s said to glow, and since it’s the only source
of water in the valley, the Delphae and their flocks are forced
to drink from it and bathe in it. The story has it that, after a
while, they also started to glow.’ He smiled faintly. ‘They must
save a fortune on candles.’
‘That’s not really possible, is it?’ Talen asked skeptically. “I
mean, people aren’t going to glow in the dark just because of
what they eat or drink, are they?’
‘i’m not a scientist, young sir, so don’t ask me about what’s
possible and impossible. It could be some sort of mineral, or
maybe a form of algae, I suppose. It’s a neat sort of explanation
for an imaginary characteristic.’
‘Those people last night did glow, your Excellency,’ Kalten
reminded him.
‘Yes, and I’m trying very hard to forget about that.’ Itagne
looked back over his shoulder. Sephrenia had refused even to
listen to a discussion of the Delphae, and she and Berit followed
them at some distance. ‘Lady Sephrenia’s reaction to the Delphae
isn’t really uncommon among Styrics, you know. The very
name makes them irrational. Anyway, “Xadane” enjoyed enormous
popularity, and there were the usual imitators. A whole
body of literature grew up around the Delphae. It’s called, quite
naturally, “Delphaeic literature”. Serious people don’t take it
seriously, and foolish people take it foolishly. You know how
that goes. ‘
‘Oh, yes,’ Bevier murmured. “I had to read whole libraries full
of abominable verse when I was a student. Every professor had
his favorite poet, and they all inflicted them on us without
mercy. I think that’s what ultimately led me to take up a military career.’
Khalad came riding back to join them. “I wouldn’t want to
seem critical of my betters, my Lords,’ he said dryly, ‘but the
decision to abandon the road and cut across country may have
been just a little ill-advised on a day when we can’t see the sun.
Does anyone know which way we’re going?’
‘East,’ Vanion said firmly.
‘Yes, my Lord,’ Khalad replied. ‘if you say it’s east, then it’s
east – even if it really isn’t. Aren’t we supposed to be getting
fairly close to the border?’
“It shouldn’t be very far ahead.’
‘Doesn’t your map indicate that the River Sama marks the
boundary between Cynesga and Tamul proper?’
Vanion nodded.
‘Well, I just rode to the top of that hill on up ahead and took
a look around. I could see for about ten leagues in every direction,
and there aren’t any rivers out there. Do you suppose that
someone might have stolen the Sarna?’
‘Be nice,’ Sparhawk murmured.
‘Cartography’s not an exact art, Khalad,’ Vanion pointed out.
‘The distances on any map are only approximate. We started out
at dawn, and we rode toward the lightest place in the cloud-cover.
Unless somebody’s changed things, that’s east. We’ve taken
sightings on landmarks every hour or so, and we’re still riding
in the same direction we were when we set out this morning.’
‘Where’s the river, then, my Lord?’ Khalad looked at Itagne.
‘How wide would you say the valley of the Sarna is, your
Excellency?’
‘Sixty leagues, anyway. It’s the longest and widest river on
the continent, and the valley’s very fertile.’
‘Grass? Trees? Lots of green crops?’
Itagne nodded. ‘There’s not a hint of green in any direction, my Lords,
Khalad declared. “It’s all a brown wasteland.’
‘We’re riding east,’ Vanion insisted. ‘The mountains of Atan
should be to the north – off to the left.’
‘They could be, my Lord, but they’re a little bashful today.
They’re hiding themselves in the clouds.’
‘i’ve told you, Khalad, the map’s inaccurate, that’s all.’ Vanion
looked back over his shoulder. ‘Why don’t you ride back and
ask Sephrenia and Berit to join us? It’s about lunch-time, isn’t
it, Kalten?’
‘Definitely, my Lord.”
“I sort of thought so myself. Let’s dig into the packs and put
together something to eat.’
‘is Sir Kalten skilled at estimating the time?’ Itagne asked
Sparhawk.
Sparhawk smiled. ‘We normally rely on Khalad – when the
sun’s out. When it’s cloudy, though, we fall back on Kalten’s
stomach. He can usually tell you to within a minute how long
it’s been since the last time he ate.’
Late that afternoon, when they had stopped for the night,
Khalad stood a short distance from where the rest of them were
setting up their encampment. He was looking out over the featureless
desert with a slightly smug expression on his face. ‘Sparhawk,’
he called, ‘could you come here a moment? I want to
show you something.’
Sparhawk put down Faran’s saddle and walked over to join
his squire. ‘Yes?’ he asked.
“I think you’d better talk with Lord Vanion. He probably won’t
listen to me, since he’s already got his mind made up, but somebody’s
going to have to convince him that we haven’t been
riding east today.’
‘You’re going to have to convince me first.
‘All right.’ The husky young man pointed out across the
desert. ‘We came from that direction, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘if we’ve been riding east, that would be west, right?’
‘You’re being obvious.’
‘Yes, I know. I have to be. I’m trying to explain something to
a knight. The last time I looked, the sun went down in the west.’
‘Please, Khalad, don’t try to be clever. just get to the point.’
‘Yes, my Lord. If that’s west, then why’s the sun going down
over there?’ He turned and pointed off toward the left, where
an angry orange glow stained the clouds.
Sparhawk blinked, and then he muttered an oath. ‘Let’s
go talk to Vanion,’ he said, and led the way back across
the camp to where the Pandion Preceptor was speaking with
Sephrenia.
‘We’ve got a problem,’ Sparhawk told them. ‘We made a
wrong turn somewhere today.’
‘Are you still riding that tired horse, Khalad?’ Vanion’s tone
was irritable. His conversation with Sephrenia had obviously
not been going well.
‘Our young friend here just pointed something out to me,’
Sparhawk said, ‘… speaking slowly, of course, because of my
limited understanding. He says that unless somebody’s moved
the sun, we’ve been riding north all day.’
‘That’s impossible.’
Sparhawk turned and pointed toward the ugly orange
glow on the horizon. ‘That’s not the direction we came from,
Vanion.’
Vanion stared at the horizon for a moment, and then he
started to swear.
‘You wouldn’t listen to me, would you?’ Sephrenia accused.
‘Now will you believe me when I tell you that the Delphae will
deceive you at every turn?’
“It was our own mistake, Sephrenia – well, mine, anyway. We
can’t just automatically blame the Delphae for everything that
goes wrong.’
‘i’ve known you since you were a boy, Vanion, and you’ve
never made this kind of mistake before. I’ve seen you find your
way on a dark night in the middle of a snowstorm.’
“I must have confused a couple of landmarks and taken my
bearings on the wrong one.’ Vanion grimaced. ‘Thanks for being
so polite about it, Khalad – and so patient. We could have ridden
on until we ran into the polar ice. I tend to get pig-headed
sometimes. ‘
Sephrenia smiled fondly at him. “I much prefer to speak of